John Roberts, Jr., Longtime Land-Use Attorney In Seattle

On Independence Day, the view of fireworks from John Roberts Jr.'s waterfront Yarrow Point home was spectacular. Word got around, and over 100 people, mostly complete strangers, showed up for Mr. Roberts' backyard barbecue.

With characteristic hospitality and good humor, Mr. Roberts dished up food for all of them.

Mr. Roberts, 69, who died of a heart attack Tuesday, brought such generosity of spirit to most of his life's activities. His colleagues describe him as one of the most able attorneys in the Northwest but without the petty ruthlessness or egotism that often attends such talents.

"He was, in my opinion, the ideal of what a true trial lawyer should be," recalled law partner Brad Henke. "He treated everyone, client or adversary, with the utmost courtesy. I never once heard him raise his voice in court."

Mr. Roberts was uncompromisingly honest, said close friend and client Chuck Webb, whose son married Mr. Roberts' daughter.

"He once had the opportunity to take a lawsuit that would have earned him a bundle of money," Webb said. "He turned it down because it didn't fit into his ethics."

Mr. Roberts' specialty was land-use law. He was a staunch defender of individual property rights. In recent years, he represented landowners along Hood Canal who resisted the fishing rights claimed by Indian tribes.

Among his celebrated legal feats was the 1959 incorporation of Yarrow Point, where he had made his home since 1954. He served as the town attorney for Yarrow Point from 1959 to 1972.

But Mr. Roberts was not consumed by his legal work and achieved a comfortable balance between his career and family life. He spent summer weekends gathered with friends at his Yarrow Point home. Come autumn, he spent almost every weekend hunting with his sons.

"Friends and family were always first with him," son John Roberts III said.

Mr. Roberts was born in Spokane on July 14, 1925 but his family moved to Seattle soon after he was born. He attended St. Joseph's School and Seattle Preparatory School before joining the Navy during World War II.

He attended the University of Minnesota through a Navy wartime educational program and finished his education at the University of Washington after the war. He earned a Bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1946.

He worked at a law firm for a few years after graduation and enrolled at Gonzaga University, earning his law degree in 1952. He was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1954 to 1957.

He entered the firm of Skeel, Henke, Evanson and Roberts, where he worked until his death.

Mr. Roberts is survived by his wife of 45 years, Pauline; his children: John Roberts III of Woodinville; Joseph Roberts of San Diego, Calif.; Jennifer Merrick of Bellevue; James Roberts of Bellevue, and Julia Webb of Bellevue; and nine grandchildren. Mr. Roberts also leaves four sisters: Sarah Collins, Dorothy Hurley, Geneva McMillan and Mary Alice Dunham, all of Seattle.

Funeral services were Saturday at Bellevue's Sacred Heart Church.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to the charity of the donor's choice.